Time with granddaughters! Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

We had a busy 2 weeks in Cottage Grove with our daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters. We changed out their carpet and linoleum in their kitchen and entry way to wood laminate. One week I had them both at home together, and they definitely kept me busy. Calissa is 8 and will be in the third grade this fall. She LOVES books. Alaina is 5 and will be starting kindergarten (if they can convince her to go!). Alaina won’t be going to daycare anymore after kindergarten starts, and I think she’s sad about that. Both of the girls will be in a before school/after school program instead.  We read books, played Legos, made friendship bracelets and jewelry, played cards and games, baked, etc. We went to the library story time and Calissa got to read some books to a certified therapy dog.  We went to a splash pad one hot day and it even felt good to get cold water sprinkled on me. (I’m not a water person.)

We all went to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It was a busy place with a lot of beautiful flowers and Lego sculptures at that time. 
                                                                          

They were also having a Lego building activity that day for the kids.     


Beautiful flowers          
          
These pictures are courtesy of Jason, our son-in-law, who takes some great pictures:
             
 I just had to take a picture of this beverage price list. They have a restaurant there, which is not really cheap. You can bring your own food and there’s a picnic areas and grass to sit on. We did a lot of walking that day, and it was warm. There’s miles of trails a person can walk or drive.


Our granddaughters have “raised” some Monarch butterflies the last few years. Two of them happened to hatch and be ready to be released when we were there.
   

We also went to see the St. Paul Ski Club, where the girls learned to ski jump last winter. They both enjoyed it a lot despite the cold and and lots of walking. Over the summer some people go there and practice. 
           

Families on the lake - and fun was had by all!

We had a family get-together of us, our kids and Curt’s sister’s families. It’s been about 4 years since we’ve all been together, and a weekend at a lake cabin sounded like just the thing. Curt’s sister and brother-in-law have a cabin on a lake in Minnesota. They both retired last year and have been spending more time relaxing at the lake. Relaxing to them is having lots of people there visiting! Their three kids and grandchildren live near them. Our sons and daughter-in-law from Virginia flew in and our daughter’s family brought their camper. There were a lot of people, a lot of food and a lot of fun! Pictures below are by our son-in-law, Jason, and family pic by our niece, Kristi.

                                 
   

North Dakota for a couple of months

As we entered North Dakota, it was pouring rain and windy. The eastern part of the state got a lot of rain. We stayed at North Park Campground again (there are only two campgrounds in Dickinson). Their rates are up to $37 a night for full hookups if you go nightly. Since we ended up staying a couple of months, we were able to do their monthly rate which is much better, and they were real good to work with. We didn’t know for sure what was going on with my dad’s medical issues and they had no problem with our uncertain dates. The Wi-Fi is questionable. Only 1 paved road and the other roads are in need of work.

                       

We had a family reunion over the 4th of July on my side of the family. We’ve been doing this every 5 years for a while now. Last time we didn’t go as that’s when one of our granddaughters was born in Minnesota and we were there instead. This year we were going to be in Dickinson anyway since my dad was having surgery in July. We got to spend time with family that lives there and my two brothers and our daughter’s family came also. There were relatives from lots of states. And, of course, had to have a birthday party for Alaina, who turned 5. She wanted donuts instead of a birthday cake.

                       

Curt spent some time trying to fix our bathroom window which is getting hazy, and he took it apart. We’ve got a couple of other ones that need fixing or will have to be replaced. I spent every day at my dads, and catching up on library books, and watching Bonanza and Gun Smoke. Dad had surgery and he doesn’t have to have any more treatment. Yay!